The Brainiacs series offers a monthly snapshot of the range of research underway at NYU, exploring its impact on health, society, and our understanding of the world around us.
In This Episode
“The gut and brain communicate through a neural pathway known as the gut-brain axis, which regulates many bodily functions, including eating,” said Tandon's Khalil Ramadi. “FLASH is the first ingestible electronic device shown to engage with the gut to modulate hormones that regulate brain activity on the gut-brain axis.” The results were published in Science Robotics.
New research published in PNAS showed that participants engaged in a basketball pass-counting task were more likely to spot an unexpected gorilla if it was moving substantially faster than in the original 1999 experiment or if it was leaping instead of walking. “For decades, it’s been thought that when we’re intently focused on something relevant, like driving or playing a game, we fail to spot something that unexpectedly enters our field of vision, even if it is clearly visible and moving,” says NYU's Pascal Wallisch. “Our study questions the generality of this view.”
A glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer, can double in size in more than two weeks. With the DeepGlioma device being developed by NYU Langone's Daniel A. Orringer, identification takes just minutes, potentially saving weeks of waiting to get a tumor analyzed before starting surgery or other treatment. “It really is hard for clinicians and patients to wrap our heads around that waiting period,” Orringer says.